History of mineralogy
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Early writing on mineralogy, especially on gemstones, comes from ancient Babylonia, the ancient Greco-Roman world, ancient and medieval China, and Sanskrit texts from ancient India. Books on the subje
Theophrastus
Fibrous asbestos on muscovite
Octahedral shape of diamond
Baltic amber necklace with trapped insects
Shen Kuo
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Shen Kuo or Shen Gua, courtesy name Cunzhong and pseudonym Mengqi Weng, was a Chinese polymath, scientist, and statesman of the Northern Song dynasty. Shen was a master in many fields of study includi
History of mineralogy
…Lu (Strange Rocks) of Song Luo in 1665, and the Guan Shi Lu (On Looking at Stones) in 1668. The medieval Chinese Song dynasty statesman and scientist Shen Kuo (1031–1095 AD) wrote of his land formation theory involving concepts of mineralogy. In his Meng Xi Bi Tan (梦溪笔谈; Dream Pool Essays, 1088), Shen formulated…
Bust of Shen at the Beijing Ancient Observatory
Shen's confidant, Emperor Shenzong of Song (r. 1067–1085), a Song era portrait painting.
Portrait painting of Wang Anshi.
Boundaries of the Northern Song dynasty, the Liao dynasty, and the Western Xia.